Lupin Seed for the Crop-Livestock Food Chain

Abstract

The ban on animal protein supplements in animal nutrition and, particularly, the increase in the demand for alternative protein sources to replace soybean meal in organic farming has stimulated research on GM-free feeds and renewed interest in grain legumes. Of these lupin appears to be one of the more interesting and promising crops for ruminant diets, due to its key role in low-input cropping systems and its high protein content. The aim of this study was to evaluate the productive and nutritional characteristics of several sweet varieties of lupin seeds cultivated in the Mediterranean region. The trial was carried out during the years 2007/08 on a volcanic soil in East Sicily, employing 8 sweet cultivars belonging to Lupinus albus, L. angustifolius and L. luteus species. Yield and its components (pod plant -1 , seed pod -1 , 1000 seed weight) were evaluated. Crude protein, fibre fractions and alkaloid content were also determined. L. albus exhibited the highest yields (2.2 t ha -1 ), with an intermediate value of pod x plant (15.4). L. luteus yielded 1.5 t ha -1 and L. angustifolius 0.5 t ha -1 . L. luteus showed higher levels of crude protein (34.2%) although the greatest protein yield per hectare was recorded in L. albus (0.7 t ha -1 ). L. angustifolius showed the highest mean values of NDF (28.1%) and ADF (25%), whereas L. luteus the lowest mean values of ADL (1.75%). Six alkaloids were detected and quantified, among which, the Iso-lupanine always was the most abundant (1.5 mg 100g -1 , on average). Lower concentrations of quinolizidine were observed in L. luteus (0.9 -1.4 mg 100g -1 ) as compared with L. angustifolius (1.5 -5.5 mg 100g -1 ) and L. albus (3.8 -7.5 mg 100g -1 ). Alkaloid content was always lower than the safe limit of toxicity (< 0.20‰) indicated for human and animal consumption.

Characterization and effect of year of harvest on the nutritional properties of three varieties of white lupine (Lupinus albusL.)

“…Considering that plant breeders have developed so‐called ‘sweet lupines’ with low alkaloid content (<50 mg per 100 g) for human and animal diets, LT and LB can be considered ‘sweet lupines’ in comparison with the bitter MU, the historical variety less selected by geneticists. Lupanine was the most represented and sparteine the least represented alkaloid; these data are slightly higher than those observed by Reinhard et al in the alkaloid profile of L. albus , by Boschin et al in nine alkaloid‐poor varieties of L. albus and Lupinus angustifolius grown in two climatically contrasting Italian sites and by Gresta et al in nine sweet varieties of L. albus , Lupinus luteus and L. angustifolius cultivated in the Mediterranean region. Angustifoline has been observed at low levels in L. albus as reported by Wink et al ; nevertheless, a high quantity was found in MU.…”

“…As expected, very low concentrations of quinolizidine alkaloids were also observed in LB and LT, except for LB2, where the alkaloid level was higher than the limit of toxicity (67.9 mg per 100 g). MU showed higher levels of alkaloids (136–165 mg per 100 g) than LT (9.15–14.5 mg per 100 g) and LB (3.63–67.9 mg per 100 g); the data are in accordance with those reported by Gresta et al for L. albus cv. Multitalia (166 mg per 100 g).…”

“…Alkaloid quantification was performed in full‐scan mode by the internal standard method using caffeine as analytical standard . In the standard solutions the limit of quantification (signal/noise ratio >7) was 0.2 mg kg −1 for sparteine and 0.4 mg kg −1 for all other alkaloids …”

Comparison of nutritional and antinutritional traits among different species (Lupinus albus L., Lupinus luteus L., Lupinus angustifolius L.) and varieties of lupin seeds

“…However, recently some obstacles are limiting the use of soya bean: the ban in organic livestock (EC Council Regulation 834/2007) due to the chemical treatment and its costs and availability strongly related with the price development of agricultural commodities on the world market. In Italy, there is an increasing interest in the use of Mediterranean legume grains, which are also important because they increase the sustainability of livestock systems (Calabrò et al., , ; Gresta et al., ), contributing to the improvement of soil structure, fixing atmospheric nitrogen to the soil and reducing the fertilization costs. Among these, lupin may represent a very interesting alternative to soya bean.…”

Feed legumes for truly sustainable crop-animal systems

“…This study indicated, however, the ability of pea to maximise the production per unit area of grain yield and feed energy (as Milk Feed Units) across the two regions (Table 3). Work by Gresta et al (2010) confirmed for southern Italy the greater grain and protein yield per unit area of white lupin relative to narrowleafed lupin or yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L.). Incidentally, lupins offer the additional advantage of being immune to a key pest in Mediterranean regions such as broomrape (Orobanche spp.…”